Lin Fan hurriedly tried to help the old man up, but her hand passed right through his arm, causing her to freeze before stepping back. Humans and ghosts were not meant to touch; she couldn't make contact with this ghost. She retreated about a meter and said, "What are your names? How did you die? What exactly happened? Please stand up, I can't bear this."

"My son's name was Song Liang. We lived in Shepi Gou—" The old man wiped his tears and stood up. Before he could finish speaking, his expression changed suddenly. He quickly pulled his son back. "Young lady, please, you must seek justice for us! My son died so horribly." As he backed away, he continued, "We can't stay here any longer. I'm begging you, please help us..."

Lin Fan heard footsteps as well and turned to see Qin Feng striding out. His tall figure was particularly striking in the dark. The old man and the young man vanished. Lin Fan shone her flashlight around. Qin Feng, shielding his eyes from the light, walked towards her with long strides. "Are you alright?"

"I fell," Lin Fan said.

Hearing this, Qin Feng quickly came over and took her hand. Lin Fan gasped, "It hurts. The tree had thorns, and I got pricked."

The mountain was muddy and slippery after the rain. Qin Feng let go of her hand and held her arm instead, guiding her back to the courtyard. Under the light, he saw that her palm was red and had a few small thorns embedded in it.

The host saw Qin Feng bringing Lin Fan in and asked, "What happened?"

"She fell and got some thorns in her hand," Qin Feng said, pulling up a chair for Lin Fan to sit. He found a nail clipper in his pocket to remove the thorns. The host offered, "I have a needle if you need it?"

"No, thank you."

Lin Fan watched Qin Feng intently as he carefully searched for the thorns, his deep-set features illuminated by the light. His hair was slightly longer than a crew cut, and his ears looked very spirited.

Qin Feng suddenly looked up and caught Lin Fan staring at him. She quickly averted her eyes. "Thank you."

His ears turned red instantly. Still holding her hand, he let out a soft hum and continued removing the thorns, saying, "The ground outside is slippery. Call me if you need to go out again."

"Okay."

One thorn was particularly deep. Qin Feng had to ask the host for a needle, which he sterilized with a lighter before starting to dig it out. Lin Fan turned her face away, hoping that not seeing it would make it less painful.

The thorn was finally removed, leaving Lin Fan's palm red and bleeding slightly. Qin Feng brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Lin Fan's face burned with embarrassment, wishing she could cut her hand off at the arm. "Is saliva for disinfection?"

With a dry laugh, Qin Feng's deep black eyes met hers, and he replied after a moment, "Yes, for disinfection."

It was late, and there wasn't much to do in the countryside. The host said, "Xiao Qin, you can sleep in my room tonight. Your aunt will stay with Xiao Lin."

Country folk were conservative, and Lin Fan and Qin Feng, being of different genders, couldn't share a room.

Lin Fan still had things to discuss with Qin Feng, so she tugged at his sleeve and gave him a look. Qin Feng said, "It's too much trouble for you. Besides, Xiao Lin gets scared easily. I'll stay with her."

"Is that alright?"

"Yes, thank you."

Lin Fan asked, "Do you have a village called Shepi Gou here?"

"Yes," the host replied, coming back and starting to chat again. "It's right behind our village. How do you know about it? No one lives there anymore."

"I heard about it on the way here." No one lives there? Lin Fan's eyes turned as she continued, "Did people live there before?"

"Only one family lived back there. It was a father and son. The son was a bit slow and might have gotten lost. The old man starved to death in the house. Someone from our village passing by for firewood found the body almost completely decomposed. It must have been a long time. They notified distant relatives to handle the aftermath. That was years ago."

Qin Feng caught the drift and asked, "How many years ago? Did the son go missing or die? Was it reported to the police station?"

"That kid hasn't been seen for years, likely met a bad end," the host said. "Whether it was reported, we don't know. Probably not. They lived alone back there, and now they're all dead."

"When the police came by in the morning to check, you didn't mention this?"

"We didn't think of it," the host said. "If this girl hadn't mentioned Shepi Gou, I wouldn't have remembered that family."

"Was the boy polydactyl?" Qin Feng asked.

"Don't know, never paid attention to that. But they had a distant relative in Hetan Village who handled the funeral. You could ask him tomorrow if you want."

"Thanks."

Back in the room, Qin Feng closed the door and started making the bed. Lin Fan said, "I saw those two people at the restroom door. The ones I saw during the day."

"What did they say?" Qin Feng opened the window and pulled the curtain, letting in a breeze that dispelled the stuffiness.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"He knelt as soon as he saw me, crying and begging for help. Said he was from Shepi Gou and his son was Song Liang. The son also died, said he was innocent and wrongfully killed. They ran away when you came out."

Lin Fan took off her shoes, trying to discreetly check if her feet smelled. Qin Feng glanced at her, then went out and quickly returned with a basin of water, placing it in the middle of the room. "Wash your feet."

Lin Fan was extremely embarrassed. She sat on the stool and washed her feet, saying, "Could that skeleton be Song Liang's?"

"We'll find out tomorrow."

Lin Fan finished washing and was about to pour out the water when Qin Feng gestured with his chin. "Go to bed."

Lin Fan blinked. "Is this appropriate?" Qin Feng had already taken the basin out. He washed his hands and feet outside before coming back. Lin Fan was already lying inside the bed, and Qin Feng lay down outside, turning off the light.

Lin Fan wondered, "If it was him, a slow-witted person wouldn't make enemies. Why would he be killed?"

"A killer can find any reason to kill."

The next morning, halfway through breakfast, Xiao Wang arrived. He walked straight to the dining table, looking around.

"Captain Qin."

He was in uniform. The host asked, "Have you had breakfast? Want some?"

"Thank you, uncle."

Lin Fan was speechless. So straightforward. Qin Feng finished his porridge and put down the bowl. "Why are you here?"

"To pick you up. Something happened with Lao Lei."

"What exactly?"

"A man on a motorcycle hit an old man and fled. Our people happened to be there and chased him."

"Did they catch him?"

"Yes. And coincidentally," Xiao Wang said, as the host brought him porridge, he thanked him and wolfed it down. "The man on the motorcycle almost pushed us off a cliff on our way from the county. People like him need to be dealt with. Uncle, your pickles are great." Xiao Wang didn't forget to compliment.

The host laughed, "If you like them, I'll pack some for you later. My wife made them."

"No need to pack, but she's got great skills. You're lucky."

Qin Feng pulled Lin Fan's bowl away from the table, indicating she should stay clear of Xiao Wang to avoid his spray.

After breakfast, the host led them to Shepi Gou. The path was overgrown and hidden in the weeds. Qin Feng let Lin Fan walk in the middle, fearing there might be snakes. It took an hour to reach.

"They used to live here."

The wooden fence was rotting, with fungus growing on it from the rain. There were two cave dwellings and a small earthen house. The courtyard was overgrown with tall weeds. Lin Fan looked around; it was very secluded.

"He died in this cave dwelling."

The bed was still there, covered in dust. Qin Feng picked up a bottle and looked at the label. It was a painkiller.

"The old man wasn't very old when he died, was he?"

"Not even fifty."

"Why couldn't he move? How could he starve to death?"

"He probably had cancer. If he couldn't move, he would have starved."

However, they couldn't find any other medicine bottles, and the painkiller bottle was also empty.

"What was this family's surname?"

"Song, I think."

There were a few ragged clothes in the house, and nothing else. Even the bedding had been taken away. It was too clean, leaving no evidence to follow. They retraced their steps back to the village. The village head now lived in town and was rarely seen. After bidding farewell to the host, Qin Feng and the others headed back.

Xiao Wang had prepared the towing tools, but Qin Feng got into the car and started it up. He and Xiao Wang exchanged glances before Xiao Wang said, "Did you find any clues and deliberately say the car was broken to stay overnight and gather information?"

"Do you think I'm out of my mind?"

Xiao Wang, annoyed, went over to unchain the car. "This is really weird. It couldn't be that ghosts were preventing you from leaving, right? What were you looking for in Shepi Gou? Have you identified the victim? From your behavior today, it seems like that family has something to do with the victim."

Lin Fan pursed her lips and looked at Qin Feng, whispering, "Could it really be ghosts?"

Qin Feng seemed deep in thought and didn't respond. He adjusted the car's direction and waved his hand. "Let's go to Hetan Village, hurry up."

By noon, they arrived in Hetan Village and met Lei Weiyu, who ran over breathlessly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "We've contacted Liu Hu and Dong Xin and ruled out them being the victims. Liu Hu found a wife in Sichuan and moved there. He had no relatives here and never returned. Dong Xin died in a car accident and was unidentified for years, making it a cold case. We confirmed his identity by searching with his photo."

"Zhang San has also been ruled out," Qin Feng said. "He's shorter than the victim and doesn't have six fingers."

"The other suspect was also ruled out. He was just found in a shelter in Z City."

"What other clues do you have?"

"There was a father and son with the surname Song in Shepi Gou. The son had some intellectual issues. The father died about five or six years ago, and the son went missing."

Lei Weiyu said, "Shepi Gou? I've never even heard of it."

"It's very remote, probably not even on the map," Qin Feng said. "You go to the town and ask the village head of Xiliang Village about the Song family. They have a relative in Hetan Village. Xiao Wang and I will go there."

"Got it."

Lei Weiyu dashed off, and under the scorching sun, they headed into the village.

After inquiring along the way, they finally found Song's relatives. Their conditions weren't good either, with a wooden fence around the yard and a few chickens running around.

"Who are you looking for?" A middle-aged woman came out, a towel wrapped around her head.

"Are you Song Cuihua?"

"Yes, what do you need?"

"We're detectives from Jiangcheng City," Qin Feng introduced himself. "Do you know Song Liang?"

"Song Liang? Yes, he's my nephew. What happened to him?"

"We found a skeleton in Dahuai Tree Village and suspect it might be Song Liang. When did you last see him?"

The woman was shocked. "Is it Xiao Liang?"

"We're just suspecting it for now. It's not confirmed yet."

The woman looked distressed and quickly made way. "Come in first." She called back into the house, "Da Bao, what year did you start middle school?"

"2010."

The woman said, "It was around 2010. He came to borrow money from us. We were very poor then, barely making ends meet. We couldn't lend him any money, and he said he'd go ask elsewhere. We never saw him again."

"What season was it?"

"Probably around this time, after the wheat harvest."

"What was he wearing?"

"I don't remember, probably a short-sleeve shirt. Could it really be Xiao Liang? He was such an honest kid; how could he have been murdered?"

"We're just suspecting," Qin Feng said. "Was Song Liang polydactyl?"

"Yes," the woman's eyes started to redden. "Xiao Liang had six fingers. The family was too poor to afford surgery."

"What did he need the money for?"

"He said it was for medicine. We really had no money. All my children were in school, and we needed money for everything. We couldn't spare any."

"Did he have any friends?"

"I don't know."

"Did he have a job?"

"He did odd jobs, like fishing by the river, loading ores, all sorts of small tasks."

"Did he make any money?"

"He was too honest and didn't know how to speak up for himself. People took advantage of him, paid him little, and it was just enough for him and his father to get by."

"Where did he usually work?"

"Mostly around Dahuai Tree Village's dock. But the mine shut down a couple of years ago, so you probably won't find anyone in charge now."

"Do you have a photo of him?"

"I think there's one. Wait a moment; I'll look for it." The woman wiped her face and hurried into the house. Lin Fan walked to the door and looked around. This place was too poor, even worse than her hometown.

Song Cuihua was Song Liang's aunt. Naturally, she wouldn't outright call him a fool. He would do work even if he wasn't paid, always keeping his head down and never speaking up. Such a person would be considered simple-minded. Unable to borrow money, with a seriously ill father, what could he do?

And how did he die?